


Where Chaos Walks

by FunkyRacoon



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vikings, Cannibalism, Explicit Sexual Content, Flower Crowns, God!Will, Graphic Description, Graphic Violence, Kid!Will, Kissing, M/M, Murder, Murder Husbands Big Bang, Murder Husbands Big Bang 2017, No underage, Sassy Will Graham, Viking!Hannibal, older!will - Freeform, will is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 18:56:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12394134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyRacoon/pseuds/FunkyRacoon
Summary: slaughteringThat's how they would write this down in history, the slaughtering of one tribe over another, and for what, nothing else but victory.~~~My fic for Murder Husbands Big Bang!!Pretty muvh the Viking au no one asked for!





	Where Chaos Walks

**Author's Note:**

> INCOHETEBT SCREAMING!!!!
> 
>  
> 
> I CANT BELIVE ITS TODAY WHEN I CAN POST THIS AAAAAAH I HOPE YOU LIKE VIKINGS AND MURDER BECAUSE THATS WHAT WE GOT IN STORE FOR YOU TODAY!!

A slaughtering

That's how they would write this down in history, the slaughtering of one tribe over another, and for what, nothing else but victory. Hannibal stands over the blood covered field watching the last few men cry out there dying breath, the tribe was small and pathetic in his eyes, but they fought to the last woman and child. When they are finished his men cheer an uproarious sound that sends birds flying and animals running, it is the sound of triumph from the blood. Another victory won for another day, his men will celebrate tonight, feast on their spoils and face in the moonlight.

And then there is that feeling again.

Like a cool splash of water moving through his body. before it is suddenly gone. Icy fingers running down his spine and bone, soft lips ghosting over warm skin. Some would say it is the ghost that follows the battle, others a feeling of guilt from murder. But it is neither to Hannibal. It is, instead, the feeling of death as it is passing by to collect those who have died in battle, and whisper into the ears of those who will soon be next. He takes a moment to let that feeling wash over him, consume his body with its icy feeling, before turning to face the soldier that is attempting to speak with him.

"Sir, we found something you might want to see." One of his men speaks behind Hannibal. He stands on a cliff that looks down over the village of the once powerful tribe. Now he watches as his men pillage and takes what they can, what they want.

He doesn't move at first, taking in the art and creation they have created, and then he is mounting his horse before following the man down to the village. When he arrives his fellow men stop in their pillaging to watch their leader, their leader who has a skill with blades, their leader who doesn't bat an eyelash when he kills. The man leads him to a tent not far from the village. But hidden behind some trees. Two dead tribal men lay in front of the entrance, the tent is red stitched poorly together with strange intricate designs. But the real interesting thing is on the inside.

A small boy is huddled under a torn up blanket in the cold day. He is bare to the bone saved for his tattered pants, face covered in dirty brown curls that make a halo, skin pale as a man's ass. But the thing that really catches his eyes about the strange boy, is the dried up blood that crawls up his arm. And when he finally looks up at Hannibal he stops breathing. His eyes are a grayish blue, pale and dead. They stare into and through Hannibal all at once and show age that is beyond his own. A secret intellect that is hidden behind brown curls.

"Leave me be." Hannibal hisses to the man next to him. The man bows, and is quick to leave the tent, when he is gone Hannibal kneels next to the boy who doesn't even flinch when he extends a bloodied hand. He does, however, make sure not to look Hannibal directly in the eye. "What is your name?"

No response.

"Do you live here?"

Silence.

"Are you a prisoner?"

A blink, and a shiver until the boy looks away and rubs his arms. He looks down at the two tribal men who lay dead on the ground, before looking back at Hannibal. The man wonders if the kid even understands what he's saying, or is just too traumatized to say a thing. Maybe his tongue had been cut out by these cruel tribesmen. He's pulled out of his thoughts when he sees the boy move a little, he reaches behind him and pulls a bright orange flower from the ground.

A mock orange

The boy holds the flower out to Hannibal, to which he extends a palm and closes his fingers around the delicate flower. And then the boy says, with perfect common tongue, "Will."

Hannibal looks up from the flower, and at the boy. He wants to ask if he knows anything else, but the boy closes up again and he knows he's not going to say anything again. Instead, he sets the flower into his pouch and holds his hands out for the boy to take.

"Come, Will, we'll take care of you. I'll take care of you." Hannibal says softly as to not scare the boy.

Will is still as stone for a moment, then he's standing up slowly. Reaching out to set one of his hands in Hannibal's bugger hand, he goes still again. Staring wide-eyed at their connected palms, before looking up, not exactly into Hannibal's eyes but just close enough. Will lets his hand drop, walking closer to Hannibal and resting his head against the man's chest. Hannibal huffs a laughter a little bit, before taking hold of the boy in his arms and carrying him back to his mount.

"I promise to take care of you, Will. And I always keep my promises." He notes, pulling himself and Will onto the horse. When there both secured on the saddle, he wraps Will up in his warm wolf pelt cape. Making a note to get the kid warmer clothes, before trotting off to his men.

When he gets back to the main camp his men gawk at the little boy, staring hungrily like he is fresh meat, causing Will to hide from their curious gazes only to have Hannibal chuckling a little at his shyness. They gather around their leader awaiting for new orders, or an announcement. Hannibal stays silent for a moment, glancing around at all the men and woman with fight side by side with him. He speaks.

"Today has been another victory won, with blood and hardship. Tonight we will celebrate, tomorrow we will ride." He raises a fist into the air, his horse jeering back on hind legs to bellow out a roar along with him.

His men shout and roar in victory, raising bloodied weapons and arms in the air, a cry that reaches through the mountains, before parting off to eat, drink, or dance. Hannibal makes his own way towards his tent, where he lets his horse graze on the grass, and rest. Will stands by his side, gazing out towards his cheerful men before looking back at Hannibal. Hannibal gives the boy a small smile, only to receive a blank stare towards his face.

"We'll have to get something tailored for you, and some meat in your skinny bones." His joke is only met with a cold stare, he shrugs it off and opens his tent for the both of them.

Will looks around at the skinned furs on the wall, and the large fur bed on the ground. He sniffs at a few of the candles, before setting them down and walking over to his bed to lay down in. Hannibal hums a little, watching as Will wraps himself in the furs and close his eyes. Wondering if the boy ever had a bed before, or a full night's rest. Shrugging he leaves the tent to bring back food, and clothes for Will, who is still laying in his furs. He eats his share of the food while mapping out the coordinates his men will take the next few days until they reach another city.

When he hears shifting, and grumbling from the corner he sees Will waking up. He passes over the plate of food and the clothes to the boy who only stares at the objects like they're going to burn him.

"They're for you. To eat and to wear so you don't die." Hannibal motions, finishing off with his slice of bread, before looking down at the map.

More shuffling and then Will starts to wolf down his food, Hannibal quickly reaches over and stops him. The boy flinches, growling at Hannibal as he holds the food to his chest. Ah, so he was starved, and beaten.

"It's okay, Will. The food is yours, I just want you to eat it slowly. Slowly. Understand?" When he's given a slow nod, he continues. "Eating the food really fast will get you sick, and that would be worse. So just eat it slowly, enjoy it. It's not going to be your last meal."

Will nods, bringing the slice of meat up to bubble at it slowly, hehe take smaller chunks out of it, but still eats like he's in a rush. Hannibal waits until he's finished with everything, then turns to let the boy dress in privacy. Once he's done he turns back to find Will staring at his map.

"It's a map of the world so far. I'm calculating coordinates to the next town, where my people can get some trade and food. Along with some rest." He explains, pointing things out for Will to see. Will nods, and makes a soft grunt, before looking up at Hannibal with those wide blue eyes of his. "Is there something you need, Will?"

Will shakes his head, and reaches up to touch Hannibal's long braided hair. He chuckles at the boy's curiosity and smiles when he moves closer to touch his beard a little before going back to his hair. The curious boy touches him tentatively like Hannibal might jump up and bite him. But he remains calm and still, while the Will runs his fingers through Hannibal's beard hair. When he reaches out to touch Will's curls, the boy flinches back immediately, making a small whine as if waiting to be hit.

So this is what the men were doing to him in the tent.

Beating this small helpless child, scaring him. He wonders how many days of cruelty Will has forgone before Hannibal and his clan came by and freed him of his nightmare. When he settles his hand back down, Will uncurl from his tiny ball, staring back up at Hannibal.

Will reaches back up after a bit longer of staring at Hannibal, smoothing a hand down his face. Tracing some of the scars on his battle-worn skin, and smoothing a thumb against a few. Hannibal sighs, reciting each memory of the different scars in his head, as Will's hand passes over them. When the boy is done, he moves away from him and settles back down on the furs, yawning to himself slightly.

Hannibal chuckles, smiling at the small fragile creature before him. "I suppose it has been a long day for you, get some rest, you'll need it."

Will blinks at Hannibal in response, before shuffling into the covers. He stares up at Hannibal a few minutes, before opening up the flap of the blanket to invite Hannibal. He only gets a raised eyebrow and a frown.

"I don't fuck children, Will. If that is what you are thinking."

As an answer, he gets a slow blink of the eyes almost like a cat, then a huff. The boy pushes the furs off, moving over to Hannibal and starts pulling on his hands. Leading him to the bed, Hannibal knows that if Will tries anything, he will have to stop him, and figure a way to reteach Will the proper ways to live. Instead, Will just throws the blanket over them both and burrows into Hannibal's warm side. He chuckles, the kid is adorable he won't lie, he looks fragile most time, but somehow Hannibal can tell it's all just a mask. That underneath those curls and fear, there is a monster just waiting to be released. He could make something out of this kid, train him to fight battles, and mend flesh and bone as one. That's what he'll do then, he'll train Will to fight battles with him, maybe take over his clan when he's too old to fight, and lead his men to war.

Smiling, Hannibal licks his finger before pinching the candle out, he turns onto his side so he can look at Will better. The kid is still boney looking, but that's nothing a few good meals couldn't fix. Nodding to himself, he settles down onto the pillows, running his fingers through those mass of curls on top the boys head. Chuckling as the boy shudders, and moves closer to his body heat. What a cute little thing Will is, he can't wait to see what he will look like when he grows up.

~~

By next morning, Hannibal is awake, and ready for the new day. He listens to the birds outside, as they sing in harmonious choirs of sweet songs. It's almost peaceful to him, that is until he feels a coldness next to his side, looking down his stomach flips as he takes note of Will's disappearance. Had the boy ran off from him, was he taken? Worry and ire flood his thoughts as he storms out of the tent, uncaring that he is practically walking around naked, save for the pants on his legs. Anyone awake at the moment pay no mind to him as he moves, his nose lifted into the air as he sniffs out the boy's scent. He remembers taking note of the scent last night, as he nuzzled his nose into the boy's curls before sleeping.

Seawater, with a mix of ripe fruit and a pinch of something dark. The scent is a kind of its own, something he's never really smelled before in his time of living, but he craves it like an addict.

Swiveling around, he follows the salty scent as it leads him away from the camp. Wishing now that he had brought a weapon with him in case the boy was kidnapped, instead he finds Will completely unharmed, sitting in a patch of flowers as he weaves some into each other before untangling them. Hannibal feels the rage and fear leave him in an instant, as he goes to kneel down next to the boy. Will pays no mind to him, as he fixes another crown of flowers.

"Will, you shouldn't run off like that, something bad could have happened to you and I wouldn't be there to save you." Hannibal starts, trying to use his voice on any men who disobey his order, but around Will he just finds himself calming down. "Don't run off again, Will, you need to stay by me at all times."

The boy finally looks up at Hannibal, his eyes wide and full of wonder. He doesn't give a hint that he understands what the older man was talking about and instead, stands up to move around him. Hannibal tenses, keeping an eye on Will as he moves, just in case he needs to grab him. Instead, Will plops down behind him and starts fiddling with his hair. Hannibal stays motionless as the boy starts to weave spider flowers, and ranunculus into his hair. When he's finished he makes a small noise like a kitten and turns to sit next to Hannibal.

Hannibal does not remove the flowers, nor does he try and mess with Will's masterpiece. If this is the boy's way of saying sorry or saying anything at all, then he will not mess with it. Instead, when they walk back to his tent he lifts his head proud and tall, as some of his men gawk at the sight of their leader wearing flowers in his hair. No one makes a jab or joke about the flowers in his hair or the way the boy clings to his clothing to keep close to the older man, instead they look for a few minutes before going back to work. Not wanting to get themselves killed by Hannibal, as he has been known to strike anyone rebellious enough to stand up to his word.

The only person to say something is his second in command, Beverly, a brave woman who has fought by his side for years. Funny and strange, she fits right with their tribe, calling to put the men in their place. She stands to wait outside of his tent, arms crossed over her chest with a knowing smile on her face at the two.

“Awww, Hannibal you should learn to keep more flower in your hair, makes you look less frightening.” She mocks, chuckling as he glares at her, before turning to look down at Will. Bending on his knees to get eye level with the small boy, “And who's this little cutie. I've never seen you before.”

“Beverly, this is Will, Will meet Beverly, my second in command, also the most rambunctious person you’ll ever meet.”

Beverly scoffs, “Yeah, and you're just a big party pooper. I mean you are old.”

Hannibal glares as Beverly laughs at her own joke, before looking down at Will, only to find blue eyes looking back up at him. Will gives him a slow blink, before turning to look at Beverly, not making a single noise or notion of understanding the conversation at hand. Beverly frowns, raising eyebrows at Hannibal, as Will continues to stay quiet.

“I suppose I should warn you that Will is a mute, well besides telling me his name, other than that he is just silent.” Hannibal explained, a hand resting on Will’s shoulder, as the mute boy stared up at him. Blue eye dull like the grey sky, but with a glint of something dark and shining inside of them. 

Beverly makes a small, “Oh.” before looking down at Will, then back up to Hannibal. “Well, I just wanted to come by, and tell you that all the men are ready for when it’s time to leave. The bodies have all been disposed of and burnt, the village as well. So when people come by here, they will only think it to be an accident that included fire.”

Nodding his head, Hannibal crossed his arms over his chest, head tilting up to the sky as he inhaled a little. Feeling the wind flowing through the air, the sound of his people moving around and near him, along with the great symphonic noise of the living and breathing forest surrounding him. Finally, opening his eyes to see Beverly still staring at him, waiting for his answer. Hannibal gave a short nod, which was all she needed before walking away, shouting out a sharp single word. All of the warriors standing up, and grabbing their things, slinging them over the horses, as they got ready to ride. Hannibal kept a side eye on Will as he packed his own stuff, making a sharp whistle before his trusty stead came forth from where he was grazing.

The lovely black stallion giving him a snort, before tilting it’s head down to sniff at Will, nibbling at his curls before pulling away slowly as Will raised his hands up to the boy. Hannibal chuckled, reaching down to pick Will up, holding his own hand out for his stead to nuzzle against.

“Always approach slowly to animals, Will, some may be a gentle beast, but they can turn in a flash with the wrong move.” he hummed, watching as Will’s small hand gently caressed the stallion's neck. Fingers tangling in his mane. Before pulling away to stroke over his nose. “They say if you blow air at a horses nose, they’ll be your friend for life.”

Will looked up to Hannibal, his eyes going wide with curiosity, before looking back at the stallion. Hands reaching out to stroke the stallion once more, before curling back into his chest, as he turned into Hannibal’s arms. His stead jerking up a little, twitchy little nose sniffing at Will’s face, while snorting great huffs of air at him. Hannibal chuckled as Will curled in on himself, before pushing his stead’s face out of the way, hooking his bags on, before jumping on himself. He steered the horse up to the front of the line, his men watching him as he went up to where Beverly was standing, smirking at him as she saw While sitting in front of him.

Hannibal looked down upon his great army, his stead snorting wildly as it shook its head from the run. “Let us RIDE!!” he bellowed out, first shooting up into the air, before twisting the reins of his stallion, leading them down into the forest. Hooking an arm around Will’s middle so the boy wouldn’t fall off, as the horses were led at a slow trot, not wanting to break any of the horse's legs as they go through the rough patch of woods. Will stayed quiet during the ride, gaze looking outwards into the woods, sometimes turning left or right to watch as they pass through the area. For a few minutes he watched as a few birds fly in circles above their heads, screeching as they flew away, he blinked slowly at the two birds before looking back down to the front. His men chattering behind him, quiet whispers being told back and forth as they continued to march, narrowing his eyes as he heard someone coming up near him.

“You know there’s a lot of talk going around about you and that boy.” Beverly hummed, keeping her chin up, as their horses walked side by side.

“Oh? And should I be worried by any of this conspicuous talk?”

“No..yes? Well, some of it is funny, and some of it is bad. Some of them think you are taking in the boy to make him into your prodigy, others...have different thoughts. Darker ones.” she explained, letting her hands wave around as she spoke.

“I see. And which of these do you believe, Beverly?”

“Well, you certainly aren’t low enough to fuck a child, Hannibal, so we can cross that off the list.” She chuckled, “I think someone just got a little lonely and wanted to try and be a dad for once, instead of some awfully grumpy chieftain.”

Hannibal frowned, which only made the woman laugh even harder, as she rolled her eyes. Quickly, leaning over to snatch Will from his horse, cackling as she kicked her quicksilver mare into a gallop, as she held Will in her arms. Hannibal growled to himself, hating how Beverly always liked to play these little games with him, kicking his steed into a gallop as well as he chased after the woman. Running past trees and streams, before coming along a great wide field, Beverly having her mare stopped somewhere off into the distance, Will still on the horse as she looked down at something. He pulled his own stead into a trot, coming up near where she was standing, before sliding off to see what she was staring at.

Crows

It could only mean one thing here, death.

A creature, something wicked and not living laid on the ground. The body of a giant boar with four tusks and a multitude of mushrooms growing out from it’s deciding skin. It’s eye having already been pecked out by the crows, who laughed and cackled, parched on the creatures back. Beverly was crouching in front of the wicked beast, poking at the ugly mauling bite to its stomach. Guts have fallen out from the wound, flies already whizzing around the meat, a few bites already being taken from the meat before the predator seem to grow bored and leave. It was not a kill of mercy, or for food, no this was just to kill. Something Hannibal had never seen happens in the wild before, the only creature knows to kill like such was the man, and this was not done by man. This was something...wicked. 

“This was not done by another beast,” he commented, standing next to Beverly as she inspected the beast.

Beverly snorted, “Really? I wouldn’t have known.” standing up to drop the stick she was using, before. “This was probably a single attack, there won’t be another like it, but...whatever this thing was that killed it could kill again.”

“I’ll double the night guards.” Hannibal hummed, turning to go back to his stead, making sure to grab Will on the way, the boy had been staring at the dead creature for too long. Will curls up in his arms, soft curls tickling under his chin as he holds him close so he can’t look at the gory display. “Come, Will let’s get back on the trail, you must be tired.”

Will says nothing as always, instead of closing his eyes, as his head rest against his chest.

~~

Four times do they stop to let the horses rest, and the men have their fill of food. 

And four times does Hannibal loose Will in these cluttered woods, only to, later on, find the mute boy sitting in a patch of flowers, crafting a crown with them. Hannibal would yell at the boy if he didn’t keep finding himself relaxing at the sight of Will in the field of flowers. Seating himself down next to Will, who will stand up and show him his little crown, before rearranging Hannibal’s braid with new flowers. He does not mind the additions being placed into his hair, nor does it bother him when his mean give him raised eyebrows. Instead, he goes throughout the day as their strong leader, who commands and orders them through the hardship of life. Soon they are out of the words, and Hannibal feels like something has left itself back in that dark place, something wicked and malevolent itself. There is a taste that seems to linger on his tongue, a feeling of being watched, and yet he cannot tell if it is real or is it fake. He ignores the paranoid feeling, keeping his stallion on track of the path as they head to the nearest town.

Verger

A place he thought he wouldn’t have to see after the first time, but life has its ways, and he cannot entangle himself with the bonds of fate. He has set his boat in the stream, and now he must follow along with its pace, with all its tight corners, changes of speed, the rush, the fun, the battle. 

His men settle down near Verger, keeping as much space between them and the sick town as they can, as they work to set up camp. Hannibal paces around the camp, keeping stock on who is where and doing what Will no longer at his side at the moment, as the boy had gone off to go collect some flowers. Hannibal had been keeping an eye on him, before walking off to check on his warriors. A long time ago it would have been men in these marching armies, but the way Hannibal saw it was different, if they could fight well, then he would take them into his army. That is where Beverly came in, as men had flocked to be right at Hannibal’s side, second in command of his whole army, Beverly was furious if not sassy. She had won the spot as the second command, and to this day Hannibal was glad he had chosen the woman, as she was not as hard headed as some of his men were, and had also helped along. Especially, when Hannibal had come face-to-face with Alana Bloom, a woman in power he had slept with only so that his army could pass through her gates, and slaughter a group of scums who thought they could have a pissing contest with him.

Alana was beautiful, but the ferocious woman, one that should not have been messed like such. Thankfully, Beverly was there to stoke the flames, calming her down, and then bedding the woman. 

Of course, no one else knew of the two ladies love affair, but Beverly could never keep a secret from Hannibal. As it was hard not to want to tell your secrets to the charming man, who had the eyes of a soft lover and the devil, a juxtaposition of two different things in one person. 

Walking back over to the field of flowers Will was currently sitting in, Hannibal smiled to himself as he watched the mute was braiding flowers into Beverly’s hair. The woman talking ecstatically about something, as Will worked in silence, only to stop as Hannibal came near them.

“Beverly, I hope you aren’t telling him your ridiculous stories again.”

Beverly gave him a snort, with the addition of rolled eyes, “Of course not...only a little.”

He opted to frown at the woman, until Will stood up, holding out a bundle of flowers, each one assorted neatly. Hannibal takes the flowers in hand with a smile, running a hand through Will’s curls, as the mute stares up at him with those blank eyes, “Thank you, Will. I’m sure Beverly here could take these to my tent, while I take you on a little trip.”

“You’re not taking him to the town right?”

“I have a few things I need to go get from there.”

Beverly opens her mouth to speak, only for Hannibal to interrupt, “He will be at my side at all cost, do not worry about us. It’s better he comes with me, than stay here, who knows what awful stories you’ll tell him next.”

A soft comes from Beverly as she snatches the flowers from his hand, before stomping away to where his men are camping. He walks past the gates into the filthy town, beggars already near his feet, whining and asking for money as he passes by. Anyone who comes an inch near him gets a look from his red eyes, sending them running off before they can ask any questions. Will keeping close enough to him, that he never trails behind. Hannibal almost stutters in his movement as he feels a small hand grab his own, glancing down to see it’s only Will’s, as the mute boy looks back up to him before staring forward. Hannibal moves through the streets with more grace than the bumbling fools around him, stopping at a single vendor to check the merchandise he has to offer. Only to look up when he hears some loud boisterous fool making his way down the street.

Ah, and if it’s the swine himself.

Mason Verger, in the flesh, stands proudly as he walks through the streets, smiling like the crazy fool he is. Three men walking near him as he makes his way through the crowds, peasants being pushed out of his way, as he yells about some random man about to get hanged. People listening to his words, clinging onto each syllable like it’s their lifeline. Hannibal is about to turn and leave, before having to stop as MAson points towards him, the crowd parting to stare at the savaged Viking.

“You sir, who is this lovely boy with you. A son, perhaps? What a cute little piglet he is” Mason laughs, chuckling as Will’s grip on Hannibal's hand tightens a bit.

“No, he is not my son, he is just a boy I am taking care of,” Hannibal comments, anger suddenly coming over him at the other man’s comment.

“Not yours, eh? Well, you wouldn’t mind if I were to buy him off of you, hm? I can pay a very fine price for such a lovely piggy. I just love to hear him squeal.” Mason chuckles, something sick coming off from the way the man stands, as he comes closer. Hands reaching out as if to grab Will, only for the boy to be pulled back from his hand, Hannibal stepping in between the two.

“He is not up for sale, I will take my leave now.” Hannibal snarls, picking Will up in his arms, as he walks away. Anger rolling over his skin, as he tries not to jump out and stab the disgusting man.

“Oh, well see about that, savage. We'll see about that.” Mason chuckles to himself, before looking back to his men, walking away to yell with the might of his lungs about tractors and liar. And what happens when you mess with the king.

Hannibal is not a man who will easily bow to the power of men, neither would he bow to a god or deity. Death couldn’t even have him bowing at his knees, he is not afraid of death, nor is he afraid of the wrath of the God’s. He is not a God himself, but he is also neither man. So he thinks to himself, let this two-legged pig walk to his camp and try to take away his flower, he’d have to fight his entire army before getting to the boy. He’d have to kill Hannibal first before he was to touch the kid.

Snarling, Hannibal holds Will close to his chest, as he continues to march his way back to his tent. Setting Will down, he walks into his tent huffing a little to himself, for seating himself on the furs, grabbing his ax so he could sharpen it. Only to freeze a little as he feels small hands on his arm, looking over to where Will is staring down at his ax. Moving around a little, Hannibal settles to the boy on his lap, before holding up the ax, watching as Will stares at his weapon with awe. Small hands running over the handle before reaching up to the blade, where old rusted blood has continue to collect onto the blade. Staining like the blood on his hands, he knows what it's like to be elbow deep in a man’s chest, what it’s like to kill.

And to enjoy the kill

But Will stares at the blade like it is something strange and new, something interesting. Fingers flipping it over, as he touches the other side.

“This blade was passed down to me when I was six, a gift from my father, and a gift from his father.” Hannibal explains, “My father told me that it has been passed down the Lecter line for many years, made from the bone antler of a swift white buck. It’s a shame you never see them anymore, as man has tainted the forest with their needs and wants.”

Will tilts his head back, curls covering his head, he makes a small huff, blowing the curls out of the boy’s face so he could look down at him. 

“Do you like it? I can make you an ax as well, of course not of the same handle or bone.” Hannibal hums before settling the ax back down on the ground, before turning Will around in his lap. “But, if I am to teach you how to fight, you will need to get stronger, and more meat on your skinny bones.”

He rubs his fingers over Will’s arms, before looking back up at the boy, “Maybe we could start with horse riding for you, get your legs stronger and better for fighting and running, hm?”

Will gives him a slow blink, before holding his hands up, pressing them against Hannibal’s own palms, as if to see the size difference. Palm pressing against the palm, Hannibal grins a little, before Will removes his hands from his face, placing them onto his cheeks. Tilting his chin down so Will can stare up at his face, eyes scrunching together as if he is searching for something inside his strange maroon eyes. He must have found it, as his eyes slowly went wide before he patted Hannibal’s cheek softly. Hannibal was tempted to ask the boy a few questions, and see if he would answer them, or continue to stay mute, only for Beverly to barge into his tent.

“There’s been another killing, and this time it isn’t a beast.”

Hannibal looks at Beverly’s face, an eyebrow rising slightly before his face goes stoic.

“Who is it?”

“Come, I’ll show you.”

Setting Will back onto the ground, Hannibal follows Beverley off into the fields, unaware that Will was following behind him. Beverly leading him into another open field, where he sees a rather strange sight of the murder. A woman, brown hair, the chest was torn open as he lungs and a few other organs have been torn out. The woman had been mounted upon the dead head of a stag, it’s antlers protruding from her body, as she looked to be in immense pain. Hannibal could tell that who or whatever murdered the woman wanted her to feel pain, wanted to listen to her scream and to cry for mercy. But there was no mercy here, only humiliation, and the enjoyment of killing a fellow man. The stag head looked to be about a day old, flies buzzing around both carcasses, as Beverly bent to get a closer look.

“Do you think someone in the camp is doing this? Or could it be a wild animal?”

Hannibal crosses his hands behind his back, “Whichever it may be, they have a clear attention to make a show of their work. Almost like they want us to see it.”

“Showing their art up on display. Maybe it’s a courting ritual, in the old stories, there were tales where a God would try to court a human lover with displays of grotesque murders, in order to get the human's attention. But I don’t think that probably worked out well in their favor since people don’t enjoy waking up to find a dead body in front of their home.”

Hannibal hummed in response, before tensing up as he heard a snap of a stick from behind him. Both of them turned at the same time, before freezing as they saw a massive grey wolf begin to stalk its way from out of the underbrush. Lips pulled back as it snarled, blood covering its red muzzle, fore dripping from its teeth as it came close to them. Hannibal motions for Beverly to move away from the gory display, both of them walking away as the monstrous wolf approaches. Licking its chops, hackles raised as it snarls some more at the two of them, Hannibal catches something moving in the corner of his eye, turning to freeze as he sees it to be Will.

Will who is walking towards the massive beast of a wolf, ignoring it’s snarling and growling as he stands between the display and the wolf. The wolf snarls at Will, the boy standing motionless, staring down the wolf. Hannibal watches as the two interact, a hand coming down to grab the knife on his belt, ready to jump at any moment, only to freeze when Will holds his hand out to the wolf, standing still as it creeps closer to him. His muscles tense up ready to strike down the wolf, a plan already in his head as he waits for the wolf to even try and attack, only to stop when Will growls back at the wolf. It is not as fearsome as the wolf’s snarling, but it is enough to get the wolf’s attention, as Will gets down low, snarling back at the large beast. 

“Will.” Hannibal tries to call to the boy, taking a step forward, only for Beverly to stop him.

The wolf flattens its ears as it snarls at Will, body getting low to the ground, ready to pounce upon its prey. Only Will has other ideas, he jumps at the wolf, missing its claws as the wolf tries to attack. He bites at the wolf’s neck, snarling as the wolf yelps in terror. Sudden there is a flash of teeth and then suddenly blood is spraying out everywhere, Hannibal’s nostrils flare as he jumps forward. Grabbing the wolf by its ears, and tearing it away from his precious flower, surprised to see the blood gushing out from the wolf’s torn throat. Will’s mouth dripping with blood, as he swallows the piece of flesh he tore from the wolf’s throat. Hannibal lets the body drop, as he pulls Will close to his chest, caressing his curls as he tries to calm himself down.

“William,” he hisses, pulling the boy back so he can stare straight into those blue eyes, “You do not ever do that again, understood? I don’t care that you killed the damn wolf, you do not put yourself in danger like that. Understood?”

Will does nothing.

“I said, understood.”

A blink, and then a slow nod.

“Good.” Hannibal feels the tension lying beneath his muscle, before turning back to stare at the dead wolf. “We will not let this go to waste, hm?”

He stands up walking over to the wolf, hoisting it over his shoulders, before taking Will’s hand. As the two of them follow Beverly back to the camp, Hannibal walks in silence, thinking about all the things he will do to the wolf’s pelt once he get’s back to his tent. First, he will have to gut it, and then clean its insides, before skinning the beast and then tanning the hide. It will provide a well enough meal for him and Will, as well as a comfortable cloak for his flower, as he has deserved a gift from his kill. No one says anything as the three of them come back to the camp, nor so when they see the massive wolf Hannibal carries with him, or when he washes the blood from Will’s mouth. Their eyes seeming to be glued at the giant wolf carcass, before turning away as Hannibal starts to gut the beast. Humming a little to himself as he sets the wolves organs inside of a bucket near him, Hannibal watches out of the corner of his eye as Will creeps closer to him, nostril flaring as if the boy were scenting him like a dog, before settling down next to his leg.

“Tired from your little misadventure, Will?” He quips, snapping a bone so he can get to the heart.

Will huffs a little, before laying his head against Hannibal’s leg, watching as the older man extracts the wolf’s heart. He makes a noise, small and almost undetectable to anyone who wasn’t listening, but Hannibal was, as he turns his head to see Will reaching an arm out for the wolf’s heart. Chuckling, Hannibal hands the heart over to his flower, before sticking his hand back into the wolf’s chest. Continuing on with his work for a bit more, Hannibal does not pay attention to Will as the boy studies the wolf’s large heart, only when he takes a bite out of the bloody meat does he narrow his eyes a little. Waiting as the boy torn into the heart with his sharp teeth, gnawing on the chewy meat, before swallowing the bite taken. 

Hannibal hums a little to himself, “If you were to only wait a few minutes, I could have cooked the heart for you, my boy. Gone and spoiled your meal have you now.” 

Will ignores his comments, continuing to consume the heart in his hands, quiet as a little mouse nibbling on cheese. 

By the time Hannibal has finished cleaning out the wolf the moon has already begun to rise. His men gathering around fires as they prepare to feast upon the flesh of the fallen, that was another rather strange thing about Hannibal’s tribe. They were all cannibals. 

Everyone no longer caring what meat they ate anymore, as they had all gone through the hunger of a cold winter, starvation following them like a hungry pack of wolves. But no one had face death as much as Hannibal has that winter long ago when he lost his whole family, lost in the dark woods. Far beyond the point in which a human should travel through those woods, he remembers little from those times, the pain, the hunger, and this creature that had followed him around. Curling around his small frame had he fought through the winter nights, sleep coming along with a handful of nightmares, as he cried and screamed. Only to find himself, years later, the leader of a band of savages. Ones who he is happy to fight in a war with, as they have always had his back for anything.

Finishing off with his own meal, Hannibal stood up so he could go off and find Will, last remembering the boy had been sitting in a bed of flowers. But when he got there he found that Will was in fact not sitting in the bed of flowers, looking around he didn't see the mute anywhere it seemed as if he had vanished, but something about that didn't settle well with Hannibal. Stepping forward into the field of flowers he came across a pile of freshly picked flowers, dropped and forgotten in a haste. Bending down he inspected the flowers, looking up to see a small trail that led off to somewhere. And then there was the stench, a powerful grotesque thing that made him want to cover his nose, but he knew the scent of a pig when he smelt them. And he smelt two pigs, who had come and taken his flower away from him.

Standing up he grabbed at the ax on his side, marching towards the gates of Verger as he knew this night would end in bloodshed.

~~

There's an old saying, long ago before the great wars ended when the man was still in the harbors of the Gods. When they had offerings and tributes sent to the Gods, gave pray and sacrifice. When they believed in the Gods.

But those times have long past, and the Old Gods had disappeared into the black woods. No one has prayed to them for many years. But there are few who remember the days when the Old Gods had lived, they remember he says that the Gods had whispered to those of the seeing eye. With their strange prophetic speech, it was a wonder why it was so hard to speak to the Gods because no one could really understand them.

Blood looks black in the moonlight

Hannibal had never understood such a reference until he grew older, and more blood spilled on his hands. He began to see why the Old Gods were feared for their lust for blood, it was such a joyous and strange moment, where he felt both at peace and ethereal. He remembers when he had marched along with his men, killing the sleeping army of the Hundred, remembers the way the blood had looked. Pouting out from their dead corpses and onto the ground, pooling in lakes of black, not like the darkness of the sky. But like the black insides of those dark spindly things that crawled at night, stalking around in the dark woods, where all men had feared to go.

Yes, blood very much did look black in the moonlight.

And he loved the way it looks, splattered across the divine halls of the Verger castle. Men gurgling on the ground as blood seeped from their wounds, Hannibal kicked over the next man's corpse, having already a trail of blood behind him. He had only one place in mind, and that was to find his flower, and he knew exactly who was keeping hold of them. 

Cutting another man down, he watched the way the man's skull broke open when his blade came crashing down over it. Listening to that sweet sickening sound of metal against bone, the pressure of bones breaking, shattering into nothing but pieces. The man's screams were cut short, as Hannibal's blade had struck down into the man's brain, all thoughts lost and forgotten as he fell to the ground. Grinning to himself, Hannibal pulled his ax from the man's head, flicking off the blood before moving down the hall. Taking another quick turn he froze, as he saw who he was looking for, safely standing at the end of the hallway.

“Will.” he gasped, running over to the mute, who had been staring at a painting. 

Hannibal slowed down in his running as he came closer to the mute, Will turned around to face him, his face giving off no sign of harm or joy. Instead, he couldn't help but noticed the smeared blood over his mouth, and his right hand which was dripping with blood as well. Will took a step towards Hannibal, holding his hand out in an offering, trying to give him something. Tentatively, Hannibal held out the palm of his hand towards Will, only to raise a startled eyebrow as the mute dropped a bundle of human teeth into his hand. He was speechless at the sight of the teeth, they seemed too big to be Will's, adult size even. And yet he couldn't help but open Will's mouth up so he could check, feeling relieved when he saw his flower still had all his sharp teeth.

“Will...where did you get these from? Who did you get them from.” 

A blink, slow and steady like a cat, Will's eyes flickered down to Hannibal's hand, before coming back up to the man's face. Reaching out he gripped the hand in which Hannibal was not carrying the teeth in, blood smearing over the palm as he leads him down the halls. Hannibal was patient, following Will to a door, before the boy had come to a stop. A hand slowly coming up to point through the door, hesitant to see what lied inside, he glanced down at Will once more, before opening the door.

There lying on his bed was Mason Verger, his face no longer identifiable, as it could only be described as a bloody mess. The skin around the mouth having been torn and ripped off, the nose went as well, as for his teeth. Well, Hannibal already knew where the missing pieces were in now, looking down at his hand, before down at Will. Will, on the other hand, seemed to have no fear or any emotion toward the scene before, possibly because he had been the one to kill the man. Squatting down a little, Hannibal brought Will close to his chest, holding the small boy in his arms in a hug. A less bloody hand running through his curls, as he stared back at the grotesque scene before him. There was a feeling in his chest, not like pain or grief, no he could have cared less if Mason had died, the ma being more of a pest to him than anything else. But something was there, more cheerful and happy, something akin to...pride.

Yes, that's what it was. As he was proud of what his little flower had done, with such little training he had taken down a king, tore his face into strip before pulling his tooth out. He grinned, wishing he could have been there to watch the whole thing go down, wondering how much Mason had screamed and struggled before passing out. Nuzzling his nose against Will's curls, he inhaled that sweet floral scent the boy had on him, as it mixed well with the scent of blood and death.

“Come to me my flower, let me get you cleaned up.” he smiled, lifting Will up in his arms, as the boy wrapped his thin arms around his neck. 

Ducking his head into the crook of Hannibal's neck as if to take a nap. Je could careless what Will did, as he walked past the dead men, and out of the castle, proud to have seen a glorious scene of art. He had seen a creation tonight, made of blood and flesh, born by the hands of a mute killer as he looked at the body once more. The blood shining so mysteriously in the moonlight, a night of shared blood and murder, one that he certainly would not forget.

Bringing Will back to the camp, Hannibal had set to washing the blood off the both of them, Will is a little fussy with being washed. As he made a small noise, ducking to avoid Hannibal's hands, only to find himself dragged back and having his face scrubbed from the blood on it. Hannibal having a bit of a hard time keeping him to stay still, as all he wanted to do was run off. Taking them back to his tent, Hannibal sat Will down on the furs, bringing him a plate of the meat which Will happily ate, while Hannibal laid down. Eyes closed, arms crossed over his chest as he listened to the sound of the night, and Will eating his food. Only to shift over to his side when Will came over to lay down, nuzzling against the older man's chest as he curled into himself, soon falling asleep. 

Hannibal stayed up a little later, watching as Will slept so peacefully, even after he had just killed a man he still slept like a kitten. He grinned at the thought, bringing a hand up to caress down his flowers cheek, before running them through his curls. Only he felt something off in Will's hair, something hard on the boy's skull, shrugging it off as a tangle or just a small thing. He did not think of what the bump could be, as it did not really bother him, instead he could hear the whispering words of sleep as it called to him. Yawning, he blew out the last candle, laying back down as he pulled the covers over himself. Making sure to keep his ax close, and Will closer, not wanting to have a repeat of the night. Unsure how he could react to losing Will again.

“Goodnight, my flower,” he whispered, nose burying into the boy's curls, as he began to drift into a slumber.

~~

He knew it was only a matter of time until word had gotten out that MAson Verger was dead, and in that time Hannibal had made sure to have his men a distant way from the Verger kingdom. But that would not help, as he knew killing such a powerful man could cause war and cataclysm, and yet he could not find it in himself to care. For Mason had known who he was dealing with, when he had the bright idea to steal Will away from him, just the mere idea of what the man could have done to his flower makes him grind his teeth. A flash of blood and anger washing over him as he grips the reins of his horse harder, only to relax when he remembers exactly what Will had done to the pig. Remembers what dark and demented thing his flower had made of the pig, beautiful as it was terrifying to see this other side of Will. He wondered what exactly had brought this wolf pup to snapping back, claws coming to attack the enemy, and showing his true form.

Either way, what’s done has been done, so it’s to be expected when Hannibal gets a raven.

Beverly had come barreling into his tent, as he was in the middle of teaching Will how to write out his letters. Since the boy wouldn't talk, he would have to teach him another way of communication, although Will's handwriting looked more like that of a blond man's he continued to help him when needed. Watching carefully as Will would trace over his own lettering, once, twice, sometimes even three times, before trying to do his own letter work. The progress was slow, but they were getting somewhere, at least the boy could write his own name. If not still looking like shit. It wouldn't have teetered him if Beverly had come in smiling, instead, she had a look of seriousness on her face, one that Hannibal rarely saw unless it was during war.

A hand-held towards him, a single rolled-up envelop with the red seal of a fire-breathing dragon.

“The Red Dragon has declared war on us, we march to Dead Point in three days, that's where we will meet his army.” she explained, breathing through each pause to catch her breath.

Hannibal hummed, unfolding the writing to read over it, before tossing the letter into the fire. Sitting there for a moment in silence, a hand coming up to stroke at his beard as he thought. His eyes landed down on Will, the boy paying neither of the warrior's attention as he shakingly wrote down something. He watched as Will traveled his name in Hannibal's writing, before working on it himself, then stopping once he finished the last ‘l’ in Will. Turning back to Beverly he nodded his head.

“Tomorrow we march with the drums of war. Tell the men, and let them get ready, tonight we sleep, tomorrow we ride.”

“And what about…” Her eyes looked down at Will, who had finished writing his name once more, looking up at Hannibal to show off his work.

“I do not know, I'm unsure who I could trust to keep him safe on the sidelines. Especially, since he likes to run away.”

“I'll watch him, he's like a little brother to me, don't worry Hannibal, I'll make sure he doesn't run off.”

He smiled, just a tiny thing, before looking down as Will pressed the paper to his chest. Chuckling as he took it from his small hands, a hand coming up to pet the curly haired mute. “An improvement in your W’s, sooner or later you'll be writing sentences upon sentences.”

Beverly snorted, “It took me a year just to get my r’s and y’s from being backward, so hopefully you have a better chance that I did.”

“That is because you wanted to come hunting with the older men, and would throw fits with your teachers.” 

She shrugged, “What can I say, I'm not a fan of sitting in one place.”

Hannibal chuckled, before looking down at Will who rested his head on Hannibal's lap, sighing as he closed his eyes. “I suppose it is time for the little one to sleep.” 

Beverly nodded, before leaving the two alone, Hannibal staying a few minutes to pet Will's curls. A slim memory of the bumps he had felt on the boys head coming back, as he ran his fingers through his hair, looking down he tried to see if he could find the bumps. Only it seemed as if they were just a figment of his imagination since he could not find them, giving up on the idea that they were actually there in the first place, he carried Will over to his bed. Laying Will down on the covers before slipping in beside him, running his fingers through the boy's hair, as he watched him sleep.

“Goodnight, my flower.” he hummed, pressing another kiss to the boy's forehead, before lying down.

For the next two day's Hannibal found himself in silence, only opening his mouth to speak when giving orders to his men. Not even Beverly had tried to conversate with him as their horse moved through the dense woods, his mind reeling with trains of thoughts as he concentrated on the battle ahead. The only distraction, at least acceptable one, was when Will would take his hand to walk him over to a patch of wildflowers, having Hannibal stay seated as he plaited flowers in his braided hair. Smiling once Will would finish, and he was allowed to see the final production, the boy had a talent for crafting things with flowers. Hannibal wondered what the women of his tribe thought about such a thing, only to shrug it off as Will sat down in his lap.

“In times of war, I find myself more confident in winning than I am with losing. But right now I am unsure as to which side will win or fall.” Hannibal spoke to himself, looking down as he fiddled with the crown of flowers Will had made for him. “There are so many possibilities of what the outcome might be, that I can't say for sure who will die or live. It's not necessarily about life or death, but about time, long ago I found the teacup shattering apart. And everything seemed to just crumble along with it, only now does it feel like it's finally come back together. But in such a short time it might break once more.”

Hannibal is not one to ramble about things, but sometimes he can't help but let himself wander deeper into his mind palace as he looked back at closed doors. Although, at the time being, there seemed to be something off about the silence surrounding him, as usually, he could hear Will's breathing. Looking up he found himself standing quicker than he could think, as Will was no longer sitting in front of him, nor was he anywhere in sight.

“Will? Will!” he called out for the boy, running off into the direction he might have gone in.

Only, he did not go far, as he suddenly felt his feet stopping, when he felt a pair of eyes land on him. He tensed up, eyes taking in the surroundings before him, as his ears trained to listen for any sounds beyond the silence. And then he heard it, like the soft footsteps of something moving in the underbrush, twisting around he froze as he came face to face with a gargantuan black stag. It's dark eyes staring into his own, seeming to look more like two empty black voids the longer he watched. The world around him suddenly seems so distant, like all the birds and animals of the forest have gone quiet, the winds stopped, the trees going still. He stares right into those dark eyes, the stag huffing a great puff of air onto his face, knocking any stray pieces of air away. There is a smell, that lingers, like death fabricated into a stench that lingers onto everything it touches. The stags crown rises high up into the air, like nothing he's ever seen before, and it's beautiful.

This strange mighty beast sends him wanting to fall to his knees, and pray like it is his God. And yet he only finds himself frozen in spot, staring at the magnificent creature before him.

“Hannibal.”

A small hand grabs him, while the sound of his name rings inside of his ears, jerking his head down he finds While holding onto his hand. Those round blue eyes staring up at him like he is everything, it brings him out of his frozen state, as everything suddenly comes back to life. Moving and alive. When he looks back up the stag has suddenly disappeared, almost as if it was just a figment of his imagination. Squeezing Will's hand lightly, Hannibal looks back down to where the small boy is staring up at him, giving him a smile before brushing his fingers through those dark curls.

“Will, did you just say my name?” 

The boy shows no reaction to even understanding what Hannibal had said, but the way his ears pink lightly tells him just so. Chuckling, Hannibal picks up Will into his arms, rubbing soothing circles into his back as he carries him back to the camp. For today may as well be his last, for tomorrow brings uncertainty and death.

That night he does sleep as quickly as wishes to, watching the way the light of the fire dancing around Will's skin while the boy sleeps. Fingers continuing to brush through Will's lush curls, the mute nuzzling close into his chest, while Hannibal just lays and watches. Soon enough he finds himself falling asleep, curling around the boy's smaller form as if to shield him from the world unknown. 

“My flower, my lovely flower,” he mumbles into Will's curls, sleep finally coming over him as his eyes shut.

By morning he is already awake and ready before the sun has risen fully above the horizon, belly full of meat and water. Sharpening his ax, quietly so he doesn't disturb Will from his slumber, his armor already latched on as he waits for the time to come. When the boy does wake up it catches Hannibal in surprise, as he is staring down at his ax, before turning sharply as he feels arms wrapping around his chest. Tense shoulders finally relaxing when he sees ut to just be Will, smiling a little at the sleep look on the boys face.

“I must match to war today Will, you are too young to follow me, but do not fret my flower. Beverly will be there at your side, making sure you are safe.” he smiles, cupping the side of Will's face with his hand.

Will blinks slowly, turning his face to nuzzle against Hannibal's hand, before relaxing into the man's soothing touches. Looking up to see Beverly standing in the doorway, a sad smile crossing her face as she sees the two. Clearing his throat, Hannibal stands up, leading Will over to the woman before giving her a nod.

“We march today.”

~~

In war a battle can begin in many different ways, some by the sound of the horn, or the war cry of the leader. Either way, it starts faster than something anyone would recognize it to be, and just like that the war has started, metal clashing against metal, men screaming and yelling, everything becoming a blur as you slash and stab at whoever. Beverly watches from a hill not that far from the battle, Will standing at her side, along with a few archers and elders. All of them watching the battle between the Black Stag and the Red Dragon play out. Hannibal somewhere down in the whole mess.

Will had been silent, more so than usual, a kind of silence that sends chills running down a person's back as they try and find a noise to clear out the silence. And yet it is there, creeping uncomfortably up her spine, as she stands holding the child's hand. Her eyes trained on the battlefield as she searches for her leader, only to gasp as she sees him cut two men with his axe, blood covering his skin as he snarls. Each swing coming down like that of a merciless angel, wrath and blood lust filling his eyes, as he kills for the rush of the kill. In battle he is like a different man, someone who you would not wish to get to be at the other side on. It would be a lie if she said he didn't scare her when he got like this, because he was something to be terrified of.

She jumped as she felt a tug on her arm, While trying to walk off towards the battle only for Beverly to hold him back. “Will, remember you are to remain with mex until the battle is over.”

Will made a small huffing noise with his nose, something akin to that of a petulant child, causing her to raise an eyebrow before going back to watch Hannibal.

She tensed ad she sae a few scratches collect on his skin, blood dripping down from his chest as he chopped off another man's arm. And then there was another tug on her arm, causing her to frown as she pulled Beverly back to her. Will seeming to want to do nothing but run over to Hannibal's side, but she had promised to protect Will, and a promise is a promise.

“Will, stop it.’ she started softly, Will grunting as he tried to wiggle his arm out of her girl. “Will! Stop that right-”

Will jerked around, eyes seeming to suddenly fill with complete back as he snarled at her. His coming out as the corrupting sound of thousands of agonizing screams and cold whispers, his skin going completely cold to her touch. The sky suddenly darkening as Will spoke to her for the first time, “Release me mortal.”

Without a word, Beverly had let go of Will's arm, the boy turning back to sprint down the hill and towards the battle. His form seeming to glow and shift around ashe approached the battle, dark feathers and fur, antlers sprouting for his skull, as he began to run on all four. Gasping, Beverly covered her mouth as she saw what kind of monster Will had turned into.

~~

Hannibal had been through many wars in his life, not to mention fights and battles he had done outside of war. Most often he would have killed at least three men a week, maybe more, depending on which part of the world he was in. But nothing would expect him for this battle, finally having encountered the Red Dragon himself. The two meeting in a clearing of the battles around them, eyes locking as they crouched and got ready to fight. Only the fight did not commence, as suddenly a echoing howl crossed over the sky, shouts of war turning into screams of terror. Flicking his head to the side Hannibal had to jump back as a massive black stag came barreling into the fight, gorging Francis on his antlers as he let out a bellowing cry. Men running away or ignoring the beast, as it continued to tear down fleets of men with just one swipe of his massive antlers. And Hannibal was powerless to do anything but watch as the stag gored, and slaughtered the army of the Red Dragon, right before him. It was possibly the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Standing up on its hind legs, the stag releases a bellowing roar, before falling back down. Everyone believes the beast will settle now, but that was only the calm before the storm.

It strikes out, knocking down any approaching men from the Dragon's army. Antlers finding themselves in the chest off screaming men, blood and bodies being thrown from it's path. The stag pushes on, killing, roaring, a harbringer of death and pain. Beautiful as it is terrifying. It leaves no man behind in it's trail, and when it's finished, the stag comes trotting back over to where Hannibal is standing. They stand there for a moment, just watching one another, until finally the stag moves, tilting it's head down to let Francis’s body slid off his horns. Laying it before Hannibal's feet like an offering, huffing slightly when Hannibal looks down at the corpse of the once feared Dragon.

“You have destroyed a once powerful army with just the swings of your power, and yet you let my men live....Who are you?”

It chuckles, not exactly the sound a wild beast would make, but something more akin to a human man chuckling. It's mouth doesn't even move when it speaks, “You already know.”

Turning his head to the side, Hannibal searches on top of the hill, only he does not see the silhouette of the boy he loves and cherishes. Looking back at the great stag he begins to open his mouth and speak, only to be silenced by a finger pressed to his lips. Because in a single blink of an eye there is no longer a stag standing before him, but a man, with dark chocolate curls, and silver blue eyes with wisdom beyond the ages.

“Will…” he gasp, falling to his knees as he knows exactly who and what is standing before him. 

Wilhelm, the God of Death. A monster of a God who has always been feared more so than the others, not even the other God's can bring fear to mortals as much as this one does. Because if there's one fear men have in common, it is Death. 

The God chuckles as he stares down at Hannibal, a hand coming up to run through his ashen blonde hair, before picking a flower from his braid, “Flowers are such beautiful things, are they not? With hidden meanings behind them all, for example the mock orange means ‘beware’, while red carnations mean ‘a deadly foe is near’. Forget me nots are for true love, while spider flowers are ‘elope with me’. Do you know what the lotus flower means?”

Hannibal keeps his head down as Will continues to run his fingers through his hair, stopping as he tilts his chin up with a finger. Making sure to stare Hannibal in the eye as he speaks, “Love beyond the grave.”

“I am just a savage, my lord, I am not a lover.” 

Will chuckles, “Rise my champion.”

Following the God's demand, Hannibal stands up before him, maroon eyes staring into those lovely blue ones. Like the ocean had been captured and placed into two round orbs, such beauty to see. 

“Do you remember me?”

A raised eyebrow, and then a shake of the head. 

“I was there Hannibal, I was there when the winter came, and your family was taken from you. I watched this small boy die inside a shell of a body, watched as a dark thing took its place. I could have left you there, and yet...I didn't. I kept you warm and fed, watched as you slowly grew into a man, and what a beautiful thing you have become.” He says, hands coming up to cup Hannibal's face, “No mortal man could possibly kill you, as you are not like the rest of them. Born by a mortal woman, but raised by a God. You are chaos and death as it should be, and yet you are only a savage.”

Hannibal speaks up, eyes locked on with the Gods as he does so, “And what is it from me that you want, Will?”

“You. I want you, and everything that comes with you, your soul, mind, heart, body. I want you to be mine, and me to be yours.”

“Lovers of death.”

Will chuckles, leaning forward to ghost his lips over Hannibal's, “Precisely.”

~~

That night, hidden away in his tent Hannibal finds himself in the throes of passion. Something he hasn't felt in many years, as he lays Will's body put on his furs, pressing kisses down the man's chest as he gasp and groans beneath him. The two of them taking their time to slowly get to know each other's body well, lips locked in a never ending battle with one another. Limbs tangling with limbs until they are so entangled with one another it becomes hard to separate them from each other. 

Hannibal is the first one to top, taking Will on his back so he can watch the way the God's face changes and shifts in one of passion. Moans and screams coming from their tent, loud enough that anyone outside could probably hear them. But he did not care as the two were lost on the passion of love making, Will switching them around so he could ride Hannibal's cock like a horse rider. Cracking Hannibal's mask of calm as the man groaned and screamed for more when Will fucked into him. Finally, by the time the moon had settled in the sky they came to a rest. Will laying on his stomach to examine Hannibal's axe, while the man was lazily pressing kisses down the Death God's spine. Grinning whenever Will shuddered from the soft touches, before continuing with his work.

“You have a beautiful blade, Hannibal. I have not seen such craftsmanship since the time people had still believed in the God's.” Will says, setting the axe back down so he could turn over on his back, grinning as Hannibal kissed up his chest.

“My family is a very old one, we have been around for ages.” Hannibal hums, nuzzling against Will's neck, as the man tilts his head to the side.

Will hums quietly to himself, wrapping around Hannibal's body as he relaxes into the soft touches, wishing for the night to never end.

“Was it you, Will, the one who was leaving behind those grotesque gifts for me?” Hannibal questions, smiling as Will mouths against his neck, teeth nipping playfully at the skin.

“Yes it was, did you like them?”

Hannibal turns them over so he can lay ontop of Will, growling playfully as Will bares his teeth. “They were beautiful my love.”

“Mmmh, not as beautiful as some of the others I've made in the past, it's been awhile since I came down here. I won't lie they were a little rushed.”

“I would love to see what you could make with more time, that is if you would allow me such a rare gift.”

Will chuckles, leaning up to kiss Hannibal again, flipping them over when he has the man distracted. “Oh, don't worry there will be plenty of time for that, and other things. But right now I think you have a little unexpected guest to deal with.”

Before he could ask any questions Beverly came running into the tent, not caring that either one of them were naked as her face contained a giant smile. Which meant only one thing.

“Oh dear.” Hannibal sighed to himself.

“Hannibal, my girlfriend is here, so get your asd up and dressed and come say hi.” Beverly said, throwing the man's clothes at him, before raising an eyebrow at Will. “Jeez man what did you do to him, mark him all up with your teeth?”

Will chuckled, stretching out as his eyes lolled over to where Hannibal was sitting up to dress. “Trust me, he has it worse than me.”

He made sure to give Beverly a toothy smile, showing off his peculiarly sharp canines. To which Hannibal snorted, leaning over to slap his shoulder gently, earning a smug look from Will. The Death God happily giving his lover a wink before laying back down on the furs, covering himself in their warmth.

“I will be back shortly my love, stay here.”

Will gives him a hum, burying his face into a pillow as if to sleep.

“Some lover of yours.” Beverly snickers, stifling her laugh as Hannibal sends a glare her way.

Alana jumps off her horse grinning as Beverly runs up to give her a bone crushing hug, the two of them sharing soft kisses as Hannibal waits patiently by his side. When they finish Alana gives him a nod along with a smile, before Beverly walks her with Hannibal, describing what had happened in the past couple of days. Alana smiling and chuckling as she listened to the ecstatic woman speaking, Hannibal following behind a few feet. Wishing he could be back in his tent with Will, lying there nude with his lover as they shared slow kisses, and wrapped around one another, warmed by the fire.

He was brought back from his thoughts when he heard a gasp come from Alana, peeling his eyes to turn around as to see what she was staring at. Only to freeze as he saw While walking their way, the man covered in nothing but a wolf pelt, and not even that was covering his cock from anyone’s view. Alana covered her mouth as Will walked passed her, coming towards Hannibal as to stare down at the seated man. Hannibal raised an eyebrow, wishing that Will would have listened and stayed in the tent, but he was a God and didn’t really have to listen to a mortal’s command.

“I thought I asked you to stay in the tent where it was warm.” Hannibal grumbled, as Will grinned, that wicked little wolf grin of his sending shivers down his spine.

Will hummed a little, climbing into Hannibal’s lap so he could caress the man’s cheek, “I got bored, and you weren’t there to keep me company.”

“Hannibal, if you would be so kind as to tell your…’friend’ here that we are having an important meeting, that would be kind of you.” Alanna hummed, Beverly chuckling next to her.

Both women went silent as Will turned towards them, a raised eyebrow as he smirked, sharply strange teeth glinting in the moonlight as he stood up. “Do you believe me to be some kind of whore? Someone to keep Hannibal’s bed warm, until the war comes?”

Glaring, Alana stood up, ignoring Beverly as she tried to have her sit back down, so she could stand toe to toe with Will, “You know nothing about who you are talking to, so how about you just sit back down in Hannibal’s lap. Cover yourself up.”

Will chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest, “Oh, I know much more than you would like to know, Alana Bloom, heir to the Bloom kingdom. I know everyone and how their life is going, after all I am the last person they will meet, and trust me, you do not want to get on my bad side.”

“You have petty threats for a liar.”

“A liar now, am I? My, my Hannibal you sure do pick the good ones. Now let me tell you this, and I will will tell you this only once, I am not a person you should piss off. Especially since killing and death are one of the things I’m most known for.” giving himself a more added effect, Will let’s his face warp into some monstrous wolf like creature, blue eyes turning pure black as he snarls.

Alana’s breathing goes still as she stares at the monster before her, finally breathing again when his face shifts back to human, a smudged grin on his lips as he saunters back to Hannibal’s lap. She blinks, her whole frame shaking and pale, as she goes to sit back next to Beverly. Her voice stuttering as she tries to speak, only to stop as she collects herself together.

“What...are you?”

“I think it’s more of who am I.” he grins, “Most people give me the old name of Death, other’s call me different things, Devil, Black Shuck, doesn’t matter as I am all the same person. But you can call me Will, and I will call you Alana, no need for formalities, hm?”

She nods her head, before swallowing, eyes down casting as she tries to collect herself.

Will sighs, pressing a kiss to Hannibal’s forehead, as he goes to stand, “I see I have ruined your little war meeting, I guess I will take my leave now, so I don’t frighten anymore ladies or lords who are to come.”

“And where do you think you are going?” Hannibal grumbled, turning to stare at Will’s back.

He stops in his movement, before turning back to Hannibal, grinning at the man, “Do not worry my love, I will return for you. A little ravven came in, and told me about a plague wreaking havoc on a small village down the hills. I musting keep my people waiting, unless they want to become lost spirits. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Like a shadow in the night, Will had move the wolf pelt over him, his body morphine along with the furs as he became a great black wolf. Sniffing the air once, before running out of the tent, leaving the camp behind in his trail.

“You have a lot to explain to me, Hannibal.” he heard Alana spoke up, as he was sipping his drink.

“Yes, well, you didn’t come here to hear me tell you life story, you came here to give me some news. Or was I mistaken about the reason why all three of us came to speak privately in the first place.”

Alana looked off to the distance, before looking back towards Hannibal, sighing before taking a sip of her wine, “News about the Dragon’s death has spread by now, and many kings are angry that you killed him and Verger. War is coming, Hannibal, I think it’s about time we started acting like allies, and put an end to this War.”

Hannibal scoffed, “I am not a king, Alana, only a savage who happens to be very good at killing people. I will not be apart of this war.”

“You already are. When you killed Mason Verger you threw in the dice to gamble your life. And now that you have killed the Dragon, many people will want to come and have your head on a stake, to claim they killed the leader of the Black Stag clan.”

“They are foolish to think they could do so, and brave to even try.”

“Yes well, war and religion have both seem to have taken a rise in these times now. Those small groups of religious men, the Wings of Light, they are many now. And growing throughout the days, bring what they call justice to the cities, as they publicly beat and humiliate people.” Alana explained, “I had to set up guards in a few brothels, because they started destroying them with their followers.”

“Attacking brothels, and public massacres, who do these people think they are in the eye’s of the Gods?” Hannibal hummed, sipping his own drink.

“Exactly.”

An eyebrow raised, as he could tell Alana was withholding something from him. Eyes searching over her face he frowned, as he figured out exactly what she was trying to hide from him. Sitting back up in his seat, he shook his head, “My men are not knights, Alana, we do not protect the innocent, unless it is our own, or for gain. We’re savages, I thought you of all people would have remembered that.”

“Yes, but only for a short time, until I can get these light believers out of my city, I will pay you how ever much is needed, and your men-”

She went quiet, as Hannibal held up a hand to silence her, stroking his chin as he thought for a minute, before sighing. “I will think about it.”

“Thank you, Hannibal, I knew you were the right man to help me.”

~~

They march back with Alana’s men, to her great city of Bloomington, a rather laughable name, but to a city as powerful as hers. No one was really laughing at it anymore, it became powerful in a few months, as her father’s father was a strong leader. Now Hannibal finds himself entering her city gates a second time, his men behind him as he follows Alana’s lead. Will has not shown up in their few days of travel, the man having sent a raven to follow them around, as it caws and sings while flying over head. Only in his dreams does Will come to see Hannibal, it would be a lie if he said he didn’t miss the God’s presence, as he very much does miss having someone else to lay in bed with.

It isn’t until Hannibal has come back from eating dinner in the feast hall does he finally see his beloved. Will creeps in silently through the window, in the form of a raven before turning into a human, grinning wolfishly down at Hannibal as he lies there in the bed. Going to sneak up behind his lover, only for Hannibal to flip their positions, both men laughing as they share soothing kisses to one another. Will humming as he melts into a puddle under Hannibal’s warm lips, purring while he nuzzles into the man’s chest.

“Oh, how much I missed having you in my arms.” Will purrs, nipping lightly at Hannibal’s bottom lip, pulling a chuckle from said man.

“Where have you been? I thought you said you would be coming back soon.”

“I’ve been here, and I’ve been there, many places in the few days I’ve been gone. But I came back did I not? And look at you, you’ve been here playing royal knight with Alana Bloom.”

Hannibal growled, capturing Will’s lips in his own, before the God flipped them over. “I am no one’s little knight to command, I do whatever I want.”

“Oh, you say that now, but if I asked, I could have you on your knees sucking me off.” Will chuckled.

“And I could have you doing the same, my love.”

“Great, then let’s have sex and then sleep it off.”

“Of course my love.”

**Author's Note:**

> Check out the awesome piece of art my partner made!!! It's so bloody tastic, no pun intended!
> 
> https://damejenn.tumblr.com/post/166503069156/so-funkyracoon-wrote-this-wild-vikings-au-for
> 
> Honestly, this was a first for me, and certainoy not the last, I had too much fun with this!


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